Development of measures for limiting negative impacts of the «Atomic» lake on population and environment.

In arid climate, economic activities at the territory of the "Atomic" lake is one of the topical issues for the Semipalatinsk test site (STS). Hence, the boundaries of areas with radionuclides contamination, which correspond to the level of radioactive wastes at the territory adjacent to the "Atomic" lake of STS, are to be determined. The territory around the lake is used for cattle breeding and the water of the "Atomic" lake that is the one large water source is used for livestock watering.

Sr/Cs ratios in soil of epicentral zones of «Experimental Field» testing site of Semipalatinsk Test Site.

The paper presents the results of Sr/Cs isotopic ratios in the soil surface layer in the venues of surface and atmospheric nuclear tests at the territory of the «Experimental Field » site of the Semipalatinsk Test Site. One of the main factors in the radiation impact of a nuclear explosion on the environment is the decay of fission products. The determination of Cs activity in soil is carried out by accurate, rapid and sufficiently cheap gamma-spectrometric method, while the existing methods of determining Sr activity are quite problematic: they either have sufficiently high detection limits or are time-consuming.

Functional Diversity of Ant-Associated Bacterial Communities.

It was found that ants significantly affect the physiological activity and functional diversity of soil microbial communities, and redistribution of biophilic elements (C and N) down through the profile occurs in anthills compared to the control soil, as well as their accumulation in the underground part of the ant nests. A high urease activity was revealed in ant nests and ants. Functional dissimilarities of bacterial communities in all studied objects were determined by the miultisubstrate test.

[Role of microbiocenosis of the gastrointestinal tract in the nutrition of grouse].

In order to assess the role of the microbiocenosis of the digestive tract of herbivorous birds in transforming poor forage, the activity of cellulolytic enzymes in all departments of the gastrointestinal tract of the black grouse (Lyrurus tetrix) and Western capercaillie (Tetrao urogallus) was studied. The functional diversity of microbial communities of different departments was also investigated. In both species of birds, nitrogenase and cellobiohydrolase activities were discovered in the digestive tract, with the maximum observed in the cecum.